


Heroes

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F, Pining, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-08 18:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15936314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Maya has always believed in heroes. She just never expected to fall in love with one.





	Heroes

Growing up, Maya had always heard stories about heroes. Whether it be the Knights of Unistria, battling cosmic forces with their flying space unicorns, or Canter Ella, the dashing rogue-turned-hero who stole only hearts (and Maya had definitely harboured a little crush on her for a while), Maya loved to read about them. The idea of someone swooping in to save the day, of things turning out okay in the end, it all made her feel more optimistic about her own life. Especially when her family lost their farm to plagues and poison. During those dark times, the thought of heroes got her through it. Of the knights, or Canter Ella, or even... even those four statues that stood sentinel in the mysterious, foggy area that Maya had stumbled upon when she'd been very young and exploring her home, like the heroes she read about.

She still remembered the awe, the sheer reverence, that she'd felt as she'd stood before those towering horse statues. Little Maya Dew, coming face to... well, stone leg, really. Stone hoof? Anyway, she'd been standing in front of real heroes. But she hadn't asked her parents about them then. It was only years later, when she'd overheard her parents talking about the places that they'd left behind upon leaving their farm. Guardians Dale, it was called. The ancient statues of the Soul Riders, Jorvik's four greatest heroes. She'd listened, with wide-eyed amazement, clutching her space unicorn plush (hand-sewn by her father during the tough years), as her parents had told her all about the Soul Riders and their eternal fight for the light, to defeat Dark Core and Garnok.

"Could I be a Soul Rider, mama?" Maya had asked, trembling with excitement at the very thought. One of the Riders had red hair. She had red hair, too. Maybe it was fate! But her mother had only given her a small, sad smile.

"No, my little Maya, I'm afraid that fate hasn't picked you out," her mother had said. Her heart had plummeted, her hopes dashed as easily as the dinner plate that she'd dropped the night before (and then spent hours crying about). "The Soul Riders are marked with either a lightning bolt, a star, a moon, or a sun in the form of their birthmark. But you, my little darling, could be our hero."

"I will!" Maya had declared. "I'll be the hero of the Dews, mama! Even if I can't be a Soul Rider." Her mother had smiled, kissing her forehead.

Years later, while Maya had been working at Silverglade Manor (until she'd accidentally given Sabine's horse the wrong feed, and honestly, how was she supposed to know that she was supposed to give him special feed? It wasn't like he'd had a note on his stall door or anything!), she'd run into her first Soul Rider. She'd always imagined this meeting to be more special, more prophetic, with lightning and thunder and majestic rescue. But it had been nothing of the sort.

Maya, true to form, had run into Alex Cloudmill and Linda Chanda while wheeling a wheelbarrow full of manure out of the stable. While Maya had been horrified, apologising profusely, and Linda, Alex’s friend, had cursed her to the stars and marched off to wash off in the manor and then hide in the library, Alex had burst into laughter.

"Stable chores really are like that, huh?" Alex had chuckled. And Maya had blushed, remembering that she'd cursed in her surprise. Not as much as Linda, but enough. But then she'd laughed. Alex's laughter had been so contagious. It still was, even now.

After helping her to clean up, Alex had sat with Maya in the manor's common room and chatted with her. She'd told her that she was a Soul Rider, and that Linda was one, too. Maya's eyes had never been so wide.

"So I just covered two of Jorvik's greatest heroes with horse dung?" Maya had said, utterly mortified. Alex had nodded, laughing. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy!"

"Eheh, it's okay," Alex had said, her brown eyes shining with mirth. "Really. Linda will get over it. Now, if it had been Anne, she would've screamed loud enough for anyone to hear. After almost fainting, that is." Alex's laughter had trailed off, and Maya had sensed something unsaid. Being a Dew, she was good at hearing painful silences.

"What's wrong?" Maya had asked.

"It's nothing," Alex had said, shrugging.

"No, tell me," Maya had said. "I just covered you with horse dung, the least I can do is help you out."

"Well, it's kind of a druid secret," Alex had said. "A Soul Rider secret, even."

"You can trust me," Maya had said. Even though she hadn't really expected Alex to trust her. But hey, maybe it would turn out alright in the end! Things usually did. Just... not for her family.

"Well... if you know about the Soul Riders, you must know about the Dark Riders, correct?" Alex had asked. Maya had nodded.

"Right. Well, a while ago, one of our team went missing and we have no idea where she is, if she's even still alive," Alex had said. The hurt in her voice had tugged at Maya's heartstrings. "And then Lisa went missing not long ago."

"I'm sure you'll find them," Maya had said. "You're Soul Riders, it's your destiny to win!" Her eyes had shone, and Alex had smiled.

"Thanks," Alex had said. "Y'know what? Don't tell anyone I said this, but the druids are all a bunch of Debbie Downers. It's like, I get it, it's a super-important task, but they always think of the worst possible outcome and I hate that! So maybe having your positivity around will be a good thing." She'd smiled at her, and Maya had smiled back.

Every day after that, Maya and Alex had made time to hang out with each other, either mucking stables together or just chatting afterwards. They'd had lunch together, and Alex had shown Maya how to create her quintuple-layer stacked sandwich full of all sorts of meats, cheeses, condiments, and a single vegetable. Maya had never been able to finish hers, it had been too much for her small stomach. But Alex had an amazing appetite. Maybe magic burned calories, too, because that girl looked good.

But then, Maya had lost her job at the stables. Alex had been there to comfort her, of course, saying how Sabine was stupid and how the Baroness didn't deserve someone as good as Maya anyway. Alex's supportive jokes had made Maya cry-laugh. And then she'd gotten her a job at Moorland Stables. Unfortunately, though, Moorland was further away from Valedale than Silverglade Manor, so Alex hadn't been able to visit as often.

The only upside of Alex being absent, if it could be called that, was that Maya noticed her absence. And she noticed, listening to the Bobcatz talk about their crushes (especially Loretta with Justin) that the way she missed Alex was exactly the way the girls missed their beaus when they were out of town. That realisation had left Maya sitting on a haybale, stunned, for several hours.

When a passing Bobcat had asked her what was wrong, Maya had simply blurted "I'm in love with my best friend!" She hadn't mentioned the Soul Rider stuff, though, of course, knowing to keep that a secret. And, for a while, she'd managed to ignore her feelings. It was easy to do, when Alex wasn't around. But then, she came back.

"Hey, welcome back to Moorland Stables, how can I help yo- ALEX!" Maya screamed, letting her pitchfork fall to the ground as she jumped off of the piled crates and launched herself at Alex in a hug.

"Hey there, stable wench," Alex said with a wink and a grin. It gave Maya butterflies, even though it really shouldn't have. Alex wasn't flirting with her, she was just play-acting. Even if Maya's heart desperately wanted to believe differently. Maya stepped away, grinning. She knew this act well, having played the part with Alex so many times when Alex had passed through on important Soul Rider business. It was a good cover, because even if this other person knew about the Soul Rider stuff (and was apparently an important part of it), the other bystanders were better left unknowing.

"Um. Hi there, fair traveller, what could I help you with today?" asked Maya, trying to remember the language while her entire being was stuck on Alex. Oh dear. This was bad. She could already feel her face threatening to turn as red as the ribbon she wore in her hair.

"We request lodgings for our horses and fine pheasants for my companion and I to feast upon," said Alex.

"Ooh, sorry, we're fresh out of pheasants," said Maya. "Might I interest you in hot dogs instead? Made with the finest of butts." But not as fine as Alex's and she really hoped she hadn't said that last part out loud. But Alex burst into laughter while her companion rolled their eyes.

"I've missed you," said Alex, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye.

"I've missed you too," said Maya. Far more than Alex could even guess. Alex smiled, and Maya felt her heart do flip-flops. This really wasn't good. Falling in love with a hero never ended well- sure, the hero might get the girl, but Maya wasn't the girl. She could feel it in her heart. And she knew that, if Alex felt something for her, she would've told her by now. "Are you here to spend time with little old me or are you here on squirrel business?"

"Squirrel business," said Alex. Maya felt her spirits drop.

"Oh," said Maya.

"But hey, you can help out this time," said Alex.

"Really?" said Maya, her voice enough of a squeal to make Lynx pin his ears and give her a mutinous look.

"Yeah," said Alex, nodding. "We're looking for foals. Got any around here?"

"In the mood for something cute and huggable? Well, I'm right here," said Maya. She really hoped that Alex wouldn't take it the wrong way. Or the right way. Or- gah, she was overthinking again.

"Hehe, I wish that's all it was, I really do," said Alex. There was that sadness in her eyes again, the one that made Maya want to be the hero to get rid of everything that hurt or upset Alex. "But no. My friend here has a special gift for finding horses, we need to look at every foal in Jorvik to find out which one is the one we're looking for."

"Ooh, sounds interesting," said Maya. "Well, there are, sadly, no little foalies around here right now. No weanlings, either. But we do have a lovely Haflinger mare that's due to give birth any day now."

"Really?" asked Alex, brightening. Maya nodded.

"Yeah! She's up in the paddock near Jasper's old barn, come with me and I'll show you," said Maya. "Orrr... hmm." Her heart beat a little faster. "I just have one condition."

"Name it," said Alex. Maya's mind told her to ask Alex for a kiss. She told her mind to shut up.

"I get to ride Tin Can," said Maya. As soon as she'd said it, though, she felt disappointment spreading through her. Darn it, she should have asked for that kiss. But then, she might feel worse.

"I dunno," said Alex, petting her horse's neck. "He's a really important horse. Think you can handle him?"

"Oh, let her up, Alex," said Tin Can. "She can't be any worse than you."

"Hey, rude!" said Alex, glaring at him.

"Yeah, Tinky and I will be fine," said Maya. "Won't we, Tinky?" She petted his snout, then began poking his lip. Tin Can blew air at her in amusement.

"TINKY?" said Alex, sounding incredulous. Whoops. With that one word, Maya had just given Alex something to use against Tin Can. Oh well.

"I can have nicknames too," said Tin Can, giving a flick of his tail.

"Alright, Dew," said Alex, looking coolly back at Maya after having a good laugh at Tin Can's expense. "I'll let you do that. We'll make it a race."

"What does the winner get?" asked Maya. Her mind, again, supplied the kiss answer. She, again, ignored it.

"Hmm. Bragging rights?" asked Alex. Maya nodded.

"Sounds good to me," said Maya. Fortunately, she knew how to mount a horse, having ridden Lynx a few times. And he was a mad horse, Tin Can was easy compared to him. Though, she couldn't help but notice that her heart sped up as she sat in Tin Can's saddle. She really did have it bad, if even riding Alex's horse made her heart pound.

"Get ready to eat our dust, Dew!" Alex taunted as her friend counted them down. Maya laughed, despite the nerves jangling.

"In your dreams, Cloudmill," said Maya. She leaned forward and petted Tin Can's mane, amazed all over again at how soft and fluffy it actually was. It looked like it had been gelled into place, but it was actually like the mane of the Jorvik Wilds that she'd seen a few riders with. Just not as wiggly. "Come on, Tinky, let's win this thing."

At the other person's cry of "Go!", the two horses leaped into action, the Jorvik Warmblood and Jorvik Wild Horse easily managing to keep pace with each other. The wind rushed through Maya's hair, she'd never felt so alive. Maybe that was just a side-effect of riding a Soul Steed, particularly the one of the Lightning Soul Rider, or maybe it just came with riding a horse who wasn't a complete brat.

Despite the thrill and Tin Can's skills, however, Maya somehow lost the race. She gaped in amazement as the other rider passed her, effectively leaving her in their dust. Alex laughed and gave a whoop of delight.

"Well, I've gotta hand it to you, you put up a pretty good fight," said Alex as she slid off the back of the Jorvik Warmblood.

"Not good enough, though," said Maya glumly. "I guess a normal rider can't hope to outrun two Soul Riders."

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, they leave me and Tinky in the dust, too," said Alex as she came over to pet her horse. "She treat you well, Tinky?" Tin Can nickered.

"You're never going to stop calling me that now, are you?" asked Tin Can. Alex laughed.

"Nope. You just gave me a real gem, Maya, I hope you know that," said Alex, giving Maya a grin that made her heart flip.

"You're welcome," Maya chirped, climbing out of the saddle. Her legs were shaking a little. Possibly from the race.

"Right, now, where is this mama?" asked Alex, looking around.

"Well, she's not here yet," said Maya. Alex frowned in confusion. "I'm sorry! Y'see, Thomas asked me to get the paddock ready and I kind of... didn't want to do it all myself." Alex laughed while her friend rolled their eyes with a smile.

"You idiot, you could've just called to ask me," said Alex. Her friend nodded.

"Noo, I couldn't do that, you're always so busy with important squirrel business and I knew I couldn't interrupt that," said Maya, toeing the ground with her shoe.

"Well, never mind," said Alex, shrugging. "It so happens that the stars have aligned and we ended up helping you anyway. So." She clapped her hands together, rubbing them briskly. "What needs doing?"

"Well," said Maya, remembering what Thomas had told her. "First, the ground needs clearing up. Get rid of the thorn bushes and anything that could potentially injure the mare and foal. There used to be a fence here once, and a proper little paddock, but it rotted away long ago, so we need to build a new one of those. And... basically just make it comfy. Erect a little shelter, put in a food trough and a water trough, basically everything but add pillows and blankets."

"One nest for mama and foal, coming right up," said Alex. She looked at her friend. "Think you're up to helping me?" Her friend nodded.

"Let's do this," said Alex's friend, already picking up a chainsaw.

Together, the three of them managed to fix up the land behind Jasper's old barn into a decent-looking paddock. Maya had to admit that she got a little distracted, though, looking at Alex while she worked. She'd always known that Alex was fit, of course, but to see her working... Maya had to keep her head down and pretend that her flushed face was from exertion. And then Alex took her hoodie off, revealing her muscled arms, and Maya almost tripped over her own feet.

"You right there, Dew?" asked Alex, smirking.

"Y-yeah," Maya stammered. "Just, haha, clumsy old Maya." Blushing furiously, she turned and tried to focus on spreading hay for the mare to enjoy.

At last, it was done, and the three stood on the road, admiring their work with pride.

"I think we did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself," said Alex. Maya laughed.

"You did most of the work, really," said Maya, blushing.

"Nah, I just did the heavy lifting," said Alex. "It was your plan that we followed."

"Thanks," said Maya, rubbing the back of her neck.

Fortunately, the arrival of Thomas with the mother-to-be rescued Maya from being further flustered. Instead, all of the attention was on the mare as the group descended on her with cooing and loving pets and jokes about how fat she was. Maya had to giggle at the jokes, and it was a welcome relief from the longing in her heart.

"This mare looks about ready to pop," said Dr Eiren, the vet from Dundull who’d come over to give the mare her final check-up. She smiled at them. "By tomorrow morning, you'll have a new little foal to coo over."

"Ooh, I can't wait!" Maya squealed.

"Overnight, huh? Well then, looks like you'll have yourself a roomie for the night, Maya," said Alex, giving her a wry grin. "Hope you don't mind- I snore like a chainsaw."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," said Maya, laughing. And then, it hit her. A sleepover. With Alex. Her crush. She hadn't had a sleepover with Alex for ages, certainly not since she'd discovered her true feelings for her. Somehow, Maya had the sinking feeling that this was going to get very, very awkward...

Maya headed back down to the stables before the other two, who had important squirrel business to discuss. But that was fine. She needed to have a mini freak out in her room.

"Omigosh omigosh omigosh Alex is going to be sleeping in my room what am I going to do?" Maya fretted, raking her fingers through her hair as she paced her bedroom. It was a mess, as always, and she knew that she didn't have to clean for Alex because Alex's wasn't any cleaner but oh no Alex was going to be sleeping here tonight and how was Maya supposed to stand that?

"Okay, Maya, you can do this," said Maya, standing in the middle of her room with her eyes closed. "You can... Dew this." She giggled, which turned into a laugh. "Alright, first things first, cleaning."

In hindsight, cleaning her room right after the hard job of cleaning and fixing up a paddock was a bit of a mistake. By the time she'd finished, Maya felt exhausted. She flopped onto her bed (the covers had been pulled up now), a sheen of sweat covering her face as she panted. Work was... well, hard work.

Maya was tired but, by the time Jenna called for dinner, she found a sudden surge of energy and sprinted out of her room to the large dining room where dinner was served for the campers and Moorland Stables residents. Jenna had put on a large spread, as she always did, even Thomas had chipped in. Alex had already taken pride of place at the residents table, looking like she belonged there. Maya smiled, feeling the butterflies start up again. She ignored the nerves for now, though. She couldn't exactly eat if her stomach was in knots, and the food here was too good to pass up. And, just as she'd expected, it was a delicious dinner. Even if she did have to stop herself from looking at Alex most of the time.

Maya barely tasted dessert, though (a very large fudgy sundae), too busy fretting over the coming night with Alex. Not that it would be an actual night, not in that sense, but oh, by Aideen, she'd never been so nervous.

The hardest part, though, was that Alex tried to treat it like it was just a normal sleepover. And Maya had to pretend to be okay with that, had to pretend that she didn't love Alex with every fibre of her being. They didn't do each other’s hair and makeup, though, neither of them was that kind of girl. But they did tell stories, and watch movies, and eat way too much junk food.

"So," said Alex, stretching out beside Maya on the floor of her bedroom. Maya's heart thundered, and she wished that she'd had the energy to vacuum. But Alex didn't seem to mind, even if she did sneeze. "Any girls you like?" And just like that, Maya's heart stopped.

"What? N-no, why would you even think-?" Maya stammered, trailing off. But Alex laughed, to her relief.

"As if I'd be that girl," said Alex, smiling at her. "I mean, you can talk about girls with me if you want, but I won't push you."

"Good," said Maya, trying not to show how scared she'd been for a few moments.

"Any boys?" asked Alex. Now, they both laughed.

Their conversations continued late into the night, and Maya felt warmed by Alex's presence. She imagined, for a brief moment, what it would be like if Alex was her girlfriend. If her feelings could ever possibly be returned. But she knew that Alex didn't feel that way, and probably never would. Why would a hero fall in love with a failure like her? And so she shut those thoughts down, before she could start to hope. It was better that way.

"You can have the bed if you want," said Maya when Alex began yawning. "I can sleep on the floor, I used to sleep up in the hayloft all the time."

"No, it's your room, you sleep in the bed," said Alex. "I'll be fine on the floor. I'm a Soul Rider, I've slept rougher." She smiled, and Maya felt her heart flip.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't offer," said Maya, climbing into bed. That left Alex to switch the light out, and Maya watched through the darkness as Alex made her way back to her sleeping bag and crawled inside.

"Night, Maya," Alex whispered.

"Night, Alex," Maya whispered back. "Sweet dreams." Alex chuckled.

"That'll be the day," said Alex quietly. Maya's heart ached for her, in a different way this time. Alex deserved better, she deserved an easy life. She'd told Maya a few times about her secret desire to just live a normal life, find a job, go to college. And part of Maya, a selfish part, often wished that Alex would do that. That she could be normal, so that Maya might have a chance.

Sure enough, Alex was snoring within a few minutes, her snores rumbling through the air. Maya giggled quietly to herself at first. But then, as she watched Alex's sleeping form, Maya felt a tear run down out of the corner of her eye. She sniffed, wiping it away. Now she was crying over Alex. This was so pathetic. But she couldn't help but wish that Alex was in her arms, that she could be in Alex's arms. Why did life have to be so unfair? First her family had lost everything, then she'd lost her job at an elite stables, and now she couldn't even have the girl who made her heart ache and soar in equal measure.

She really hoped that her eyes wouldn't be red in the morning.

To her delight, though, Alex woke her bright and early the next morning. She looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Maya, wake up! We've got a little baby to go see!" Alex squealed, jumping up and down on the bed. Maya laughed, trying to roll out of the way before Alex could jump on her.

"Alright, alright, I'm up," said Maya, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "At least let me get dressed first."

"Right, that's kind of important," said Alex, looking down at her pyjamas. "Race you to the bathroom!"

"It's a communal one, you dork!" Maya called after her, laughing. She loved how she could still mess around with Alex, being idiots with her. They could pretend that everything was normal. That they were just two friends. That Maya didn't have a massive, stupid crush on one of Jorvik's greatest heroes.

Up at Jasper's barn, they found a tiny, newborn Haflinger foal, looking significantly redder than his mother.

"He's so cute~" Alex cooed, peering at him. "Hi, little guy. Welcome to Jorvik." She held her hand out towards him, looking at the mother. The mare appeared calm, possibly sensing that Alex was important. Though, she continued to remain calm when Maya, too, approached the foal.

"I love foals," said Maya. She could say that so easily. But she knew that she could never admit her love for Alex. Not to her, at any rate. "Oh, look at him." She couldn't stop smiling as the little foal stood on shaky legs and accepted their pets and adoration.

"I almost don't want to go get my friend," said Alex. "I mean, if this is Concorde then I'll get to spend more time with him, but just in case..."

"I know what you mean," said Maya. "Wait, Concorde?"

"Yeah," said Alex, a sad smile on her face. "The new one. The Concorde I knew... died."

"Oh, Alex," said Maya, hugging her out of reflex. She'd expected it to become harder to hug Alex as her feelings for her grew, but that wasn't the case at all. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," said Alex, her voice thick with emotion. "It's just become that much harder to save Anne, that's all. The new Concorde will be just a little baby, but thousands of foals are born all across Jorvik every day so it could be impossible to find him before Dark Core does."

"I'm sure you'll find him," said Maya. "With your friend's help. You're a Soul Rider, you can do anything." Alex grinned, pulling away to look at Maya.

"Thanks, Maya," said Alex. "You're just the confidence-booster I need." This would be the perfect moment for a kiss, Maya knew. But she also knew that it couldn't happen.

"Glad I could be useful," said Maya, grinning.

"I should probably go get my friend now," said Alex. "We'll find out whether or not this little guy is a Starbreed, and, if we're lucky, Concorde."

"Good luck," said Maya. "I'll just wait here."

As it turned out, though, unfortunately for the foal (or perhaps fortunately), the foal was not a Starbreed.

"Oh well, it was worth a shot," said Alex, though she looked dejected. "At least I got a sleepover with Maya out of it." She smiled, and Maya felt a little giddy.

"Promise you'll come back to visit," said Maya before she could stop herself. Alex looked at her, already turning Tin Can to head for Valedale.

"Of course I will," said Alex. "I can't stay away from you for too long, you're like a ray of sunshine."

"Ha, thanks," said Maya. "And next time, maybe make it something normal if you can? Just remember that I'm always here for hugs." Alex chuckled, shaking her head.

"Your hugs are the best, Maya," said Alex. Maya felt like squealing with excitement, but she dampened it into a grateful grin. Especially when Alex dismounted and walked over for one last goodbye hug.

"Don't be a stranger," said Maya.

"I won't," said Alex. She pulled away, then headed back to Tin Can. "See you around, Dew."

As Maya watched the two of them ride off together, she felt her heart break. Saying goodbye to Alex was always hard. But at least this time, she had a tiny little someone to vent to.

"It's okay, little guy," said Maya, petting the foal's soft little mane. "We can't all be heroes. But we can be the best friends of heroes. And who knows, maybe someday, Jorvik will need you. At least for hugs." As she said this, she leaned down and gave the foal a careful hug, being wary of the mother. "Just don't go falling in love with a hero, okay? The pain just isn't worth it."

And, up here alone outside Jasper's farm, Maya finally let the tears fall onto the foal's soft little coat. Why did love have to hurt so much? Why did everything have to be so hard? Why was it that the one person who could make her so happy could also break her heart? It just wasn't fair. None of this was fair. Destiny sucked.


End file.
